| Rock Health - Part 11

Femtech is expansive—it’s time to start treating it as such

A pulse on women’s digital health solutions and areas in which we’re excited to invest.

Digital health’s IPO window is back open

Two digital health companies have gone public since July 1, 2020. These public offerings signal that last year’s flurry of IPOs was no fluke—nine digital health companies have gone public over the past 14 months. With Amwell’s IPO on deck for later this year, it’s clear that the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting financial uncertainty have not dampened public investors’ appetite for new digital health shares.

2020 Midyear digital health market update: Unprecedented funding in an unprecedented time

In the midst of a global pandemic and a US recession, US digital health companies raised $5.4B in venture funding across the first six months of 2020. The sector is on track to have its largest funding year ever. Large deals are once again driving the overall trend as average deal size hit a record $25.1M in H1. We take a look at the unprecedented past six months and share our thoughts on the impact of COVID-19 on digital health innovation, funding trends, and the investment area that has raised an eye-popping amount of funding so far this year—behavioral health.

What’s next for healthcare in light of COVID-19

Two weeks ago, Rock Health President Tom Cassels convened with practice leaders Darryl Jue of Accenture, Amanda Berra of Advisory Board, and Pete Masloski of ZS to discuss how healthcare industry leaders must adapt to the forces that will become more prominent in the post-pandemic world. The conversation was rich, and we were fortunate to have so many of you (1,138!) in the healthcare community join us and participate in the discussion.

COVID-19 constraints push healthcare organizations to innovate around the consumer

Healthcare innovation leaders face a daunting challenge. They must prepare their organizations to manage their population’s changing needs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic while pivoting to a new normal—all without a playbook. A couple of weeks ago, we spent an hour with healthcare leaders from across the industry to understand how the pandemic is transforming their work and the healthcare delivery system at large.

Want to build an impactful career in digital health? Meet Rock Health’s 2020 fellows

Behind the small but mighty Rock Health team is a group of digital health’s brightest emerging leaders. Through their work on various projects, our fellows extend Rock Health’s reach and impact while learning at the forefront of healthcare innovation. The fellowship program is designed to give future and up-and-coming digital health leaders an opportunity to deepen their knowledge base, widen their professional networks, and contribute meaningfully to Rock Health’s mission of making healthcare massively better for every human being.

Update to “Innovation beyond COVID-19” blog post

Redefining patient adherence: Our investment in Wellth

Care plan adherence is one of the thorniest challenges facing healthcare today. We’re thrilled to announce our investment in Wellth, a company pairing the power of behavioral economics with technology to create motivation and improve health outcomes at scale.

With contact tracing, don’t let perceptions of big tech be the enemy of the greater good

As April turns to May, the United States is preparing for another phase of the COVID-19 pandemic response: contact tracing. A public health intervention dating back to the 18th century is getting rolled out in fits and starts, often on a county by county basis and in limited cases statewide. Experts project the US will require roughly 300,000 human tracers to chart and break ongoing expansion of the pandemic. We currently have between 8,000 and 14,000.

Podcast: Opportunities In Healthcare’s New Regulatory Era: Dr. Karen DeSalvo & Eric Hargan

After much anticipation, in early March, HHS released two final rules to implement interoperability and patient access provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act. Rock Health Managing Director & CEO Bill Evans caught up with two national healthcare leaders who played an integral role in ushering in this new regulatory era—HHS Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan and Google Chief Health Officer Dr. Karen DeSalvo. They discuss implications of the new rules, how stakeholders must balance data access with privacy protections, and the opportunities they see for innovation and collaboration going forward.